Balancing mechanism for wheel-cultivators.



No. 816,868. PATENTBD APR. 3, 1906. A. U. LINDGREN.

BALANCING MECHANISM FOR WHEEL CULTIVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

lVlT/VESSES L VVENTOR v 1/ 8W M(W- WML JL PATENTED APR. 3, 1906.

A. C. LINDGRBN.

BALANCING MECHANISM FOR WHEEL GULTIVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1905.

2 SHEETS$HEBT 2.

I /I414 M w WITNESSE INVENTOR UNITE STATES;

PATENT OFFIGE,

ALEXUS c. LINDGREN, or MoLINE, lLLINOlS, ASSIGNOB TO 'MOLINE PLOW COMPANY, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

BALANCING MECHANISM FOR WHEEL-OULTIVATOFISI Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 3, 1906.

Application filed November 23, 1905. Serial No. 288,694.

To all whom it may concern.-

of Illinois, have invented a new and useful I Improvement in Balancing Mechanism for Wheeled Cultivators, &c., of which the following is a specification,

In'the use of wheeled cultivators provided. with means for elevating the beams the draft of the team when the beams are lowered and in action has a tendency to pull the pole downward and subject the animals to severe neck weight, and when the beams are raised their greater weight, being back of the wheelcenter, causes the pole to tip upward.

It is the aim of my invention to overcome these objections; and the invention consists of mechanism of improved form and construction under the control of the driver, by means of which the ground-wheels may be shifted with reference to the frame of the Inachine so as to change the center of gravity and properly balance the beams, in the one case, when the beams are raised, preventing the pole from tipping upward, and in the other case, when the beams are lowered and in action, avoiding the tendency of the draft to pull thepole downward and subject the animals to neck weight.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as applied to a tworow cultivator, in connection with which the invention is peculiarly effective; but it is manifest that it is applicable as well to a singlerow cultivator and to machines of an analogous character, such as wheeled plows, where there may be occasions for balancing the weight of the plow-beams when they are raised, as in turning at the end of the field or when the machine is transported from field to field and for relieving the draft-animals of neck weight.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a wheeled cultivator having my invention embodied therein. with the parts in the position they occupy when the beams are raised out of action. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with one set of beams raised. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the frame of the machine having my invention applied with the parts in the position they occupy when the beams are lowered. and in action.

I nal sectional elevation larged scale. In the drawings, 2 represents a supporting axle having an arched portion and two cranked downwardly-extending ends-3, pro- Fig. 4 is, longitd'di vided with wheel-s indles 4, OIl WIIICh-HIIB mounted groundeels 5. The axle gives support to a frame comprising tour. longitudinal frame-bars 6 and 7 and 8 and 9., war ranged in pairs on opposite sides of the center of the axle the bars of each air being clipped at their rear ends to the ax e in such manner that the latter is capable of a rocking motion and have their opposite ends fixed to two draft-tongues 10 and 11.

Suitably supported onthe lowerends iof two hangers 12 and 13, depending from the front part .of the frame, are four cultivator beams 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 ,adapted t'o be raised and lowered by levermechanisms 18 and 19, sustained by the frame andiunder the control of the driver, who, by the Ina-nipulation of said lever mechanisms, may raise and lock the beams in elevated position.

When the beams are lowered and inaction, the draft of the team tends to draw the tongue downward and subject the draft animals to of the same on an enthe draft cannot hold :the pole down, and,

further, the greater weight of the beams being .back of the wheel-center the pole is caused to tip upward. In order to counteract this 'ob'- jectionable action of the pole under the 'changing conditions mentionedl providemechanism for shifting the ground-wheelsforward and backward so as to change the center of gravity of the frame. This mechanism "comprises two horizontal transversely-arranged equalizing bars or levers A A, arranged Send to end and pivoted about midway between their ends on vertical axes a a, to brackets 01. and a fixed, respectively, to the rear ends of the draft-tongues. have jointed to them the forward ends of links B B, whose rear ends are jointed to the lower extremities of the downwardly-eXtending cranked portions of the axle, as at I) b4.- At their inner ends the said levers A A have jointed to them the forward ends of two par allel bars C C, the rear ends of whither-e At the outer endsth'e levers end, as at e, to a segment-frame F, fixed to a sleeve or collar G, and surrounding thearched portion of the axle between the two inner frame-bars 7 and 8, to which said sleeve is firmly attached. The segment-frame is rovided with teeth f, adapted to be engage by a looking-dog e on the hand-lever E.

When the cultivator is in action with the beams lowered, the cranked portions of the axle are moved forward and stand in an upright position, as indicated in Fig. 4, while the hand-lever E extends horizontally rearward within reach of the driver, with its locking-dog engaging between the teeth of the segment frame and holding the axle in the position shown fixedly with reference to the frame. WVhen the beams are to be elevated to turn the machine at the end of the row or for other purposes, the driver manipulates the lever mechanisms 17 and 18 and locks the parts, and thus suspends the beams. The additional weight of the beams in rear of the Wheel-center will now tend to throw the tongue upward at the front, and to counteract this action the driver unlocks hand-lever E and pushes forward on the same, which actionwill force the inner ends of the two levers A A forward and will throw their outer ends rearward, thereby forcing the cranked axles rearward and correspondingly shifting the ground-wheels, with the result that the parts will be evenly balanced and the weight of the beams prevented from tipping the tongue upward, the lever E being locked to the segment-frame in order to hold the wheels in their shifted position. When the beams are again lowered for action, the lever is released and pulled rearward to its former position and the parts locked.

The bracket-supports for the equalizinglevers are so formed as to sustain them at an inclination downward at the outer ends in order to bring the outer ends as near as possible to the level of the extremities of the cranked portions of the axle, where the links B B are connected. The purpose of this arrangement and construction is to prevent the cranked portions of the axle in their movements back and forth from causin the equalizing-levers to bind at their pivota lpoints, the outer ends of the levers moving in line, or nearly so, with the movements of the cranks and not at an angle to thesame, which would be the case if the levers were in a truly horizontal position and their outer ends at a considerably higher level than the extremities of the cranks.

It :will' be observed from the construction described that the axle is so connected at its arched portion to the frame and so sustained thereby that the former is capable of a slight rocking motion, which rocking motion is controlled by the hand-lever E and effects the movement or shifting of the ground-wheels with reference to the frame, the wheels being locked by the hand-lever in the position to which they may be moved.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In combination with the frame, wheelspindles provided with supporting groundwheels movable back and forth with reference to the frame, an adjusting-lever sustained by the frame, operative connections between the adjusting-lever and the wheel-spindles, said connections including two levers pivoted between their ends to the frame, and vertically-movable beams sustained by the frame.

2. In combination with a frame, wheel-spindles having supporting-Wheels movable back and forth with reference to the frame, an adjusting lever mounted on the frame, two horizontal pivotal levers also mounted on the frame, and operatively connected with the adjusting-lever and with the wheel-spindles, and vertically-movable beams sustained by the frame.

3. In combination with a frame, an axle mounted therein and provided with cranked ends movable back and forth, wheels mounted on said axle, a hand-lever sustained by the frame, transversely-arranged levers mounted on the frame and operatively connected with said hand-lever and with the cranked ends of the axle and vertically-movable beams sustained by the frame.

4. In combination With the frame, an axle mounted therein and provided with cranked ends movable back and forth, ground-wheels on said axle, a hand-lever, transversely-arranged equalizing levers mounted on the frame, connections between the inner ends of the equalizing-levers and the hand-lever, con nections between the outer ends of the equalizing-levers and the cranked ends of the axle and vertically-movable beams sustained by the frame.

5. In combination with the frame, an axle mounted therein and formed with cranked ends movable back and forth ground-Wheels on theends of the axle, transversely-arranged levers pivoted between their ends to the frame and inclining downward at their outer ends, connections between the'outer ends of the levers and the cranked ends of the axle, a hand-lever on the frame, connections between said hand-lever and the inner ends of the transverse levers and vertically-movable beams connected with the frame.

6. In a wheeled cultivator, the combination of the frame, an axle mounted to rock therein and formed with cranked ends, ground-wheels on the ends of the axle, a draft-tongue extending forwardly from the frame, transversely-arranged levers pivoted between their ends on the frame and disposed end to end, links connecting the outer ends of the levers with the cranked ends of the axle,

a hand-lever pivoted to the frame, means for hand, this 18th day of October, 1905, in the looking said lever fixedly to the frame, rods presence of two attesting Witnesses.

oonnectin said lever with the inner ends of l T,

the transverse levers, and cultivator-beams ALEkUS LINDGREN" 5 connected With the frame and movable ver- Witnesses:

tically. J. L. IRVING,

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my P. M. PRICE. 

